South Africa’s towns and cities could be rendered more resilient to natural disasters if municipalities understand the likely impacts of climate change and build these impacts into their disaster management strategies for the future.
“Among the risks presented to local government by climate change are shifting rainfall patterns and temperatures,” said Andries Fourie, a senior technologist in disaster and risk management at SRK Consulting. “With more variable and severe weather conditions, there is likely to be increased flooding, drought and accompanying human and infrastructure risk.”
Fourie was speaking after the Disaster Risk Reduction conference in September, on the theme of ‘Adapting to extremes and limiting disaster loss’. The event was hosted by the Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa (DMISA). A highlight, he noted, was the unveiling to delegates of the newly released ‘Green Book’ online tool by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
“In the pressing context of climate change and other factors like urbanisation, the Green Book promises to significantly enhance the way disaster management is conducted in South Africa,” he said. “With climate change now front-of-mind for all professionals in built environment disciplines and beyond, it is vital for us to leverage the kind of scientific data packaged in this tool.”
Read the full article on Alive2Green
